We Owe Them

More bad news on the work front. Though not as bad as it could be, for which we should be thankful I guess.  As this Labor Day holiday approaches, it seems appropriate to think about work and how it affects our lives.  And about who has work and who doesn't.

Despite being the most productive work force in the world, there are still a substantial number of workers or retired workers who fall into poverty every year.  As Donna McDaniel points out, almost 10% of social security dependent retirees fall below the national poverty line.  Is that the future of today's worker?

There are ways to cope with this rampant skills inflation and wage deflation.  You have to stay competitive.  You have to keep your skills honed.  You have to find your competitive advantage.

Sherrie Gong Taguchi has ten tips for giving a great interview.  Dave Willmer writing to IT professionals has something to say to all of us when he reminds us not to neglect the so-called "soft" skills such as leadership, or public speaking.  Marla Gottschalk has tips about keeping the job you have, and if that fails, finding a new one.

Most important though, is to not forget where Labor Day came from, and the people whose sacrifices made it possible.  You may not know that the September holiday was created to divert attention from labor activists and the Haymarket Massacre because activists had been identified as "socialists" due to their anti-capitalist anti-robber baron and labor organizing activities.  Recall that back then, organized labor was equated with anti-Americanism.

So before you light up the barbeque, think for a minute about the thousands of workers who dedicated their lives, and sometimes gave up their lives, so that you could have a weekend every week, and so that you can go home after 8 or so hours of work per day.  Much of what was won for workers by labor activists has finally been embodied into law in most states, so today we tend to think of unions and labor activists as anachronisms or only for the lowest class immigrant laborer. 

Around the world, labor activists die daily.  Google "labor leader killed" and you get 814,000 entries from countries all around the world.  So while the labor struggle may have gotten quieter and more polite in the US, it's still a deadly serious struggle around the rest of the world.

When you hoist those margaritas, hoist them once in a toast to those brave labor leaders to whom we owe so much.